Planning Ahead
going to contain your ballot. DO NOTWRITE OR PUT ANY MARKINGS ON THE PRIVACY ENVELOPE. This is important. Some mistakes can invalidate the ballot so you need to pay attention.
• Review the ballot and blacken the circles beside your choices in black ink.
• NOTE: Pennsylvania eliminated straight party voting so you need to vote for each position. You cannot say simply straight Democratic or straight Republican.
• Place your voted ballot inside the envelope marked Official Election Ballot (the privacy envelope). Seal the envelope.
• Place the privacy envelope inside the larger second envelope which is preaddressed to Voter Services (the return envelope). You are not yet done.
• On the return envelope sign and print your name exactly how it appears on the ballot and date it. If you forgot how your name appears on the ballot, this is typed on the return envelope itself. Seal the outer envelope.
How to return the ballot
You have choices how to return your mail-in ballot. You can simply drop it in a mail box or take it to your post office for mailing. If you want to act faster in Chester County you can now take the mailer to Chester County Government Services Center (the same building where Voter Services is located), 601 Westtown Road, West Chester and deposit it into the secure drop box located inside the lobby at the main entrance. This is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and it is staffed. Similar arrangements are expected in other counties so check if you are a voter in another county. You must return your own ballot. In addition, Chester County will have two satellite offices in other areas of the county and drop boxes also with security. The issue of drop boxes has been litigated and they are allowed.
The difference between a mail-in ballot and an absentee ballot is inconsequential now. Absentee ballots used to but no longer require an excuse not to be present in the jurisdiction on election day. Mail-in ballots are secure. On receipt, the receipt of your ballot will be noted on the tracking website previously indicated above. Mail-in ballots are not counted until election day but some Pennsylvania counties, including Chester County, have upgraded their equipment for faster processing to avoid delays. Nationally itmay take some days or more for an exact tabulation but if there is an overwhelming response the likely result could be reasonably known in a shorter period of time.
Janet Colliton, Esq. is a Certified Elder Law Attorney and limits her practice to elder law, retirement and estate planning, Medicaid, Medicare, life care and special needs at 790 East Market St., Suite 250, West Chester, Pa., 19382, 610-436-6674, colliton@ collitonlaw.com. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and, with Jeffrey Jones, CSA, cofounder of Life Transition Services LLC, a service for families with long term care needs. Tune in on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. to radioWCHE 1520, “50+ Planning Ahead,” with Janet Colliton, Colliton Elder Law Associates, and Phil McFadden, Home